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With interest rates low and rent prices rising, the 90 million members of Generation Y are beginning to make their way into the housing market. Developers are taking note, with several companies recently releasing surveys looking at what the group, also known as millennials, wants in a home. One survey found that millennials want flexible space and tech capabilities.

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The National Association of Home Builders is working to convince potential buyers that new homes are equal in cost to older homes that are priced 23% less. According to the group's study, which looked at data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development, utility bills, taxes, insurance and maintenance costs are equalizing factors in the overall cost of owning a home.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is opening to the public its database of more than 90,000 consumer complaints about credit cards, mortgages and other financial products. The database previously contained only about 19,000 complaints, mostly related to credit cards. Some in the banking industry say the publication of complaints that the CFPB has not verified is unfair to banks, while others say the database heightens accountability.

Buyers who went through counseling before purchasing their homes were nearly one-third less likely to miss payments within the first two years of homeownership than those who did not receive counseling, according to a study by the NeighborWorks America community development agency. However, David Stevens, Mortgage Bankers Association CEO and a former Federal Housing Administration commissioner, cautions that all counseling is not equal. "The one thing we have yet to see is what's the model that works," he said.

The U.S. has more than 300,000 abandoned homes that sit vacant in neighborhoods, often becoming targets for vandals and falling into disrepair, according to RealtyTrac. Many of these so-called "zombie" homes are left empty when homeowners move out after receiving a notice that the bank intends to sell the home, but the bank does not follow through. These homes are largely concentrated in Florida, Illinois and California, but they are scattered throughout the country.

About 27% of online retailers offer live chat and about 33% plan to add the service in the next year, according to a study by Forrester Research for Shop.org. Chat rooms provide a place for customers to connect with a company for service, to learn about new products or to report service interruptions.